Automation of a High Pressure LNG Fuel Gas Supply System

Shipping faces numerous challenges. It is one of the biggest sources of emissions worldwide. Since the beginning of 2020, new limits have been in place for the sulfur content of fuels. An important contribution to improving the global climate is therefore to avoid using heavy fuel and instead use low-emission fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) or methanol.

This is particularly true when sailing in SECA zones (Sulphur Emission Control Area). Today, these regions are referred to as ECA zones (Emission Control Area).

The liquefied natural gas is carried on the ship at a temperature of -162°C in specially insulated tanks. In order to use LNG as fuel in the ship’s engine, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) is processed in the fuel gas supply system for combustion. In several process steps, the LNG is converted into a warm, gaseous medium with a pressure of approx. 300 bar and supplied to the propulsion system.

The automation used for this is based on highly available programmable logic controllers, while fail-safe systems monitor the safety-relevant functions. These automation and monitoring functions are visualized in a higher-level monitoring system and support the operator with safe, reliable operation of the system.

• Focus on increasing operational safety
• Integrated remote maintenance access enables maintenance processes to be efficiently supported and remote diagnostics to be carried out.
• This allows deviations in plant operation to be detected at an early stage, service calls to be better planned, and interruptions in the fuel supply to be reliably prevented.
• In addition, remote diagnostics can be used to identify sources of error, which simplifies the planning of necessary service personnel.